By Isha Sharma | Oct 01, 2025, 12:02 AM
**What’s the Story?**
*13th*, out on SonyLIV, is produced by Abhishek Dhandharia, who also serves as the showrunner. Created and written by Sameer Mishra and directed by Nishil Sheth, the show immediately reminds viewers of The Viral Fever (TVF) projects due to its rawness and thematic approach. Alas, the similarities end there. Despite an interesting premise, the series, which draws inspiration from the life of Competishun founder Mohit Tyagi, never quite soars.
**Plot: A Student Helps His Teacher Realize His Dream**
The show follows Ritesh (Paresh Pahuja), a rising venture capitalist who abandons his high-paying job to help his mentor, MT Sir (Gagan Dev Riar). MT Sir taught Ritesh during his “13th year”—the gap year after the 12th grade—when he was an IIT aspirant. Now, years later, Ritesh decides to support him in building a visionary ed-tech startup. The question remains: will this guru-shishya duo succeed?
### 1. The Protagonist Feels Distant
*13th* struggles to connect as it relies on heavy-handed storytelling. From the very first frame, Ritesh is portrayed as an aggressive, hot-headed man who marches to his own beat. Early on, he delivers a fiery speech expressing his dissatisfaction with his job, which sets the narrative in motion and brings him back to MT Sir. Unfortunately, this characterization creates distance instead of empathy.
### 2. Too Filmy, Too Theatrical
The show is conversation-heavy, featuring some sharp dialogues, but most characters end up delivering full-fledged sermons. When MT Sir and Ritesh converse, their exchanges feel overly dramatic and scripted — like caricatures rather than authentic, rooted individuals. Amusingly, flashback scenes depict MT Sir taking great pains to mentor Ritesh during his JEE preparation. But what about the other students?
### 3. Underdeveloped Supporting Characters
Obsessed with its two leads, *13th* largely neglects its supporting cast. The show’s lack of character development weakens the narrative. Compare this to successful shows like *Panchayat* or *The Family Man*, which flesh out every character to enhance believability. Girija Oak, who portrays MT Sir’s wife, is given some meaningful scenes, but that’s hardly enough to balance the story.
### 4. Pahuja and Dev Riar Keep the Show Afloat
The watchable moments of *13th* mostly come from Paresh Pahuja and Gagan Dev Riar’s chemistry and performances. The show pays tribute to the teacher-student relationship, especially as Ritesh’s life comes full circle when he supports MT Sir’s business venture. “I owe my life to him,” Ritesh says, and in return, he becomes his mentor’s teacher.
**Verdict: Can Skip This SonyLIV Original**
*13th*’s biggest undoing is that it takes itself too seriously. This makes it difficult to enjoy what ultimately becomes a tedious show. While we meet Ritesh’s friends in the opening scenes, their story arcs remain undeveloped. The series aims to capture the ache and angst of IIT aspirants and almost succeeds, but it fails to fully capitalize on its promising theme.
**Rating: 2/5 stars**
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